Immune system cellular activity is controlled by a complex network of cell surface interactions and associated signaling processes. When a cell surface receptor is activated by its ligand a signal is sent to the cell, and, depending upon the signal transduction pathway that is engaged, the signal can be inhibitory or activatory. For many receptor systems cellular activity is regulated by a balance between activatory signals and inhibitory signals. In some of these it is known that positive signals associated with the engagement of a cell surface receptor by its ligand are downmodulated or inhibited by negative signals sent by the engagement of a different cell surface receptor by its ligand.
The biochemical mechanisms of these positive and negative signaling pathways have been studied for a number of known immune system receptor and ligand interactions. Many receptors that mediate positive signaling have cytoplasmic tails containing sites of tyrosine phosphatase phosphorylation known as immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAM). A common mechanistic pathway for positive signaling involves the activation of tyrosine kinases which phosphorylate sites on the cytoplasmic domains of the receptors and on other signaling molecules. Once the receptors are phosphorylated, binding sites for signal transduction molecules are created which initiate the signaling pathways and activate the cell. The inhibitory pathways involve receptors having immunoreceptor tyrosine based inhibitory motifs (ITIM) which, like the ITAMs, are phosphorylated by tyrosine kinases. Receptors having these motifs are involved in inhibitory signaling because these motifs provide binding sites for tyrosine phosphatases which block signaling by removing tyrosine from activated receptors or signal transduction molecules. While many of the details of the activation and inhibitory mechanisms are unknown, it is clear that functional balance in the immune system depends upon opposing activatory and inhibitory signals.
One example of immune system activity that is regulated by a balance of positive and negative signaling is B cell proliferation. The B cell antigen receptor is a B cell surface immunoglobulin which, when bound to antigen, mediates a positive signal leading to B cell proliferation. However, B cells also express Fcxcex3RIIb1, a low affinity IgG receptor. When an antigen is part of an immune complex with soluble immunoglobulin, the immune complex can bind B cells by engaging both the B cell antigen receptor via the antigen and Fcxcex3RIIb1 via the soluble immunoglobulin. Co-engagement of the Fcxcex3RIIb1 with the B cell receptor complex downmodulates the activation signal and prevents B cell proliferation. Fcxcex3RIIb1 receptors contain MTIM motifs which are thought to deliver inhibitory signals to B cells via interaction of the ITIMs with tyrosine phosphatases upon co-engagement with B cell receptors.
The cytolytic activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells is another example of immune system activity which is regulated by a balance between positive signals that initiate cell function and inhibitory signals which prevent the activity. The receptors that activate NK cytotoxic activity are not fully understood. However, if the target cells express cell-surface MHC class I antigens for which the NK cell has a specific receptor, the target cell is protected from NK killing. These specific receptors, known as Killer Inhibitory Receptors (KIRs) send a negative signal when engaged by their MHC ligand, downregulating NK cell cytotoxic activity.
KIRs belong to the immunoglobulin superfamily or the C-type lectin family (see Lanier et al., Immunology Today 17:86-91,1996). Known human NK KIRs are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily and display differences and similarities in their extracellular, transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions. A cytoplasmic domain amino acid sequence common to many of the KIRs is an ITIM motif having the sequence YxxL/V. In some cases, it has been shown that phosphorylated ITIMs recruit tyrosine phosphatases which dephosphorylate molecules in the signal transduction pathway and prevent cell activation (see Burshtyn et al., Immunity 4:77-85, 1996). The KIRs commonly have two of these motifs spaced apart by 26 amino acids [YxxL/V(x)26YxxL/V]. At least two NK cell receptors, each specific for a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) C allele (an MHC class I molecule), exist as an inhibitory and an activatory receptor. These receptors are highly homologous in the extracellular portions, but have major differences in their transmembrane and cytoplasmic portions. One of the differences is the appearance of the ITIM motif in the inhibitory receptor and the lack of the ITIM motif in the activating receptor (see Biassoni et al., Journal. Exp. Med, 183:645-650, 1996).
An immunoreceptor expressed by mouse mast cells, gp49B 1, also a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is known to downregulate cell activation signals and contains a pair of ITIM motifs. gp49B 1 shares a high degree of homology with human KIRs (Katz et al., Cell Biology, 93: 10809-10814, 1996). Mouse NK cells also express a family of immunoreceptors, the Ly49 family, which contain the ITIM motif and function in a manner similar to human KIRs. However, the Ly49 immunoreceptors have no structural homology with human KIRs and contain an extracellular C-type lectin domain, making them a member of the lectin superfamily of molecules (see Lanier et al., Immunology Today 17:86-91, 1996).
Clearly, the immune system activatory and inhibitory signals mediated by opposing kinases and phosphatases are very important for maintaining balance in the immune system. Systems with a predominance of activatory signals will lead to autoimmunity and inflammation. Immune systems with a predominance of inhibitory signals are less able to challenge infected cells or cancer cells. Isolating new activatory or inhibitory receptors is highly desirable for studying the biological signal(s) transduced via the receptor. Additionally, identifying such molecules provides a means of regulating and treating diseased states associated with autoimmunity, inflammation and infection.
For example engaging a newly discovered cell surface receptor having ITIM motifs with an agonistic antibody or ligand can be used to downregulate a cell function in disease states in which the immune system is overactive and excessive inflammation or immnunopathology is present. On the other hand, using an antagonistic antibody specific to the receptor or a soluble form of the receptor can be used to block the interaction of the cell surface receptor with the receptor""s ligand to activate the specific immune function in disease states associated with suppressed immune function. Conversely, since receptors lacking the ITIM motif send activatory signals once engaged as described above, the effect of antibodies and soluble receptors is the opposite of that just described.
The present invention provides a new family of immunoreceptor molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily, designated herein as the Leukocyte Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor (LIR) polypeptides. Within the scope of the present invention are DNA sequences encoding LIR family members and their deduced amino acid sequences disclosed herein. Further included in the present invention are polypeptides encoded by DNA that hybridize to oligonucleotide probes having defined sequences or to DNA or RNA complementary to the probes. The present invention also includes recombinant expression vectors comprising DNA encoding LIR family members. Also within the scope of the present invention are nucleotide sequences which, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, encode polypeptides substantially identical or substantially similar to polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acid sequences described above, and sequences complementary to those nucleotide sequences.
Further, the present invention includes processes for producing polypeptides of the LIR family by culturing host cells transformed with a recombinant expression vector that contains an LIR family member encoding DNA sequence under conditions appropriate for expressing an LIR polypeptide family member, then recovering the expressed LIR polypeptide from the culture. The invention also provides agonistic and antagonistic antibodies to LIR and LIR family members.
Further still within the present invention are fusion proteins which include a soluble portion of an LIR family member and the Fc portion of Ig.
Disorders mediated by autoimmune disease associated with failure of a negative signaling LIR to downregulate cell function may be treated by administering a therapeutically effective amount of an agonistic antibody or ligand of LIR family members to a patient afflicted with such a disorder. Disorders mediated by disease states associated with suppressed immune function can be treated by administering a soluble form of the negative signaling LIR. Conversely, disorders mediated by diseases associated with failure of a activatory signaling LIR can be treated by administering an agonistic antibody of the activatory receptor. Disorders mediated by states associated with autoimmune function can be treated by administering a soluble form of the activatory receptor.
A viral glycoprotein having a sequence similarity to MHC class I antigens has been used to isolate and identify a new polypeptide, designated LIR-P3G2, and a new family of cell surface polypeptides designated the LIR polypeptide family. The LIR polypeptide family members possess extracellular regions having immunoglobulin-like domains, placing the members in a new subfamily of the immunoglobulin superfamily. While, the LIR family members are characterized as having very similar extracellular portions, the family includes three groups of polypeptides which are distinguishable by their transmembrane regions and their cytoplasmic regions. One group of the LIR polypeptides has a transmembrane region that includes a positively charged residue and a short cytoplasmic tail and a second group has a nonpolar transmembrane region and a long cytoplasmic tail. A third group includes a polypeptide expressed as a soluble protein having no transmembrane region or cytoplasmic tail. LIR-P3G2 is expressed by a variety of cells and recognizes HLA-B44 and HLA-A2 MHC molecules and, by analogy with known molecules, LIR-P3G2 has a role in immune recognition and self/nonself discrimination.
Examples 1-3 below describe isolating cDNA encoding P3G2 (LIR-P3G2) and a substantially identical polypeptide designated 18A3 (LIR-18A3). Briefly, the LIR-P3G2 family member was isolated by first expressing UL18, a Class I MHC-like molecule and using UL18 to isolate and identify P3G2 and 18A3. The nucleotide sequences of the isolated P3G2 cDNA and 18A3 cDNA are presented in SEQ ID NO:1 and SEQ ID NO:3, respectively. The amino acid sequences encoded by the cDNA presented in SEQ ID NO:1 and SEQ ID NO:3 are presented in SEQ ID NO:2 and SEQ ID NO:4, respectively. The P3G2 amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:2) has a predicted extracellular domain of 458 amino acids (1-458) including a signal peptide of 16 amino acids (amino acids 1-16); a transmembrane domain of 25 amino acids (amino acids 459-483) and, a cytoplasmic domain of 167 amino acids (amino acids 484-650). The extracellular domain includes four immunoglobulin-like domains. Ig-like domain I includes approximately amino acids 17-118; Ig-like domain II includes approximately amino acids 119-220; Ig-like domain III includes approximately amino acids 221-318; and Ig-like domain IV includes approximately amino acids 319-419. Significantly, the cytoplasmic domain of this polypeptide includes four ITIM motifs, each having the consensus sequence of YxxL/V. The first ITIM motif pair is found at amino acids 533-536 and 562-565 and the second pair is found at amino acids 614-617 and 644-647. This feature is identical to the ITIM motifs found in KIRs except that KIRs contain only one pair of ITIM motifs.
The 18A3 amino acid sequence has a predicted extracellular region of 459 amino acids (1-459) including a signal peptide of 16 amino acids (amino acids 1-16); a transmembrane domain of 25 amino acids (amino acids 460-484) and a cytoplasmic domain of 168 amino acids (485-652). The 18A3 amino acids sequence (SEQ ID NO:4) is substantially identical to that of P3G2 (SEQ ID NO:2) except that 18A3 has two additional amino acids (at amino acid 438 and 552) and 18A3 possesses an isoleucine residue at amino acid 142 in contrast to a threonine residue for P3G2. Additionally, 18A3 has a serine residue at amino acid 155 and P3G2 has an isoleucine at 155. Finally, the 18A3 polypeptide has a glutamic acid at amino acid 627 and P3G2 has a lysine at 625 which is aligned with the 627 residue of the 18A3 polypeptide. ITIM motifs in the 18A3 cytoplasmic domain are at amino acids 534-537 and 564-567 and at 616-619 and 646-649. Glycosylation sites occur at the amino acid triplet Asn-X-Y, where X is any amino acid except Pro and Y is Ser or Thr. Thus, potential glycosylation sites on LIR-P3G2 occur at amino acids 140-142; 281-283; 302-304; and 341-343. Sites on LIR-18A3 are at 281-283; 302-304; and 341-343. The features of these encoded polypeptides are consistent with type I transmembrane glycoproteins.
Example 8-10 describe isolating and identifying eight additional LIR polypeptide family members by probing cDNA libraries for plasmnids that hybridize to a probe obtained from DNA encoding the extracellular region of LIR-P3G2. The nucleotide sequences (cDNA) of the isolated LIR family members are presented in SEQ ID NO:7 (designated pbm25), SEQ ID NO:9 (designated pbm8), SEQ ID NO: 11 (designated pbm36-2), SEQ ID NO:13 (designated pbm36-4); SEQ ID NO:15 (designated pbmhh); SEQ ID NO:17 (designated pbm2), SEQ ID NO:19 (designated pbm17) and SEQ ID NO:21 (designated pbmnew). The amino acid sequences encoded thereby are presented in SEQ ID NO:8 (designated pbm25), SEQ ID NO:10 (designated pbm8), SEQ ID NO:12 (designated pbm36-2), SEQ ID NO:14 (designated pbm36-4), SEQ ID NO:16 (designated pbmhh); SEQ ID NO: 18 (designated pbm2); SEQ ID NO:20 (designated pbm17), and SEQ ID NO:22 (designated pbmnew), respectively.
The identified extracellular, transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions for the LIR family members of SEQ ID NO: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 are presented below. The polypeptide presented in SEQ ID NO:8 is a soluble protein having no transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions. As will be understood by the skilled artisan, the transmembrane region of P3G2 and 18A3 described above and those of LIR polypeptide family members presented below are identified in accordance with conventional criteria for identifying hydrophobic domains associated with such regions. Accordingly, the precise boundaries of any selected transmembrane region may vary from those presented above. Typically, the transmembrane domain does not vary by more than five amino acids on either end of the domain. Computer programs known in the art and useful for identifying such hydrophobic regions in proteins are available.
The polypeptide presented in SEQ ID NO:8 (LIR-pbm25) has a an extracellular domain that includes the entire amino acid sequence of amino acids 1-439 and a signal peptide of amino acids 1-16 . The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:10 (LIR-pbm8) has a predicted extracellular region of 458 amino acids (1-458) including a 16 amino acid signal peptide (amino acids 1-16); a transmembrane domain that includes amino acids 459-483; and a cytoplasmic domain that includes amino acids 484-598. The extracellular domain includes four immunoglobulin-like domains and the cytoplasmic domain includes an MTIM motif at amino acids 533-536 and 562-565.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:12 (LIR-pbm36-2) has a predicted extracellular domain of amino acids including a 16 amino acid signal peptide of from amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain which includes amino acids 262-280 and a cytoplasmic domain of from amino acids 281-289. The transmembrane domain includes a charged arginine residue at 264 and the cytoplasmic domain is short, having only a length of only 9 amino acids.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:14 (LIR-pbm36-4) has a predicted extracellular domain of amino acids 1-461 including a signal peptide from amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain that includes amino acids 462-480 and possesses a charged arginine residue at amino acid 464; and a cytoplasmic domain that includes amino acids 481-489. SEQ ID NO:14 is nearly identical to that of SEQ ID NO:12 except that it possesses four immunoglobulin domains in contrast to the two domains found in the extracehular region SEQ ID NO:12. The amino acid sequences presented in SEQ ID NO:12 and SEQ ID NO:14 are likely proteins encoded by alternatively spliced transcripts from the same gene.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:16 (LIR-pbmhh) has a predicted extracellular domain that includes amino acids 1-449 and a signal peptide from amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain that includes amino acids 450-468 with a charged arginine residue at amino acid 452; and a cytoplasmic domain that includes amino acids 469-483. The cytoplasmic domain is short with a length of 15 amino acids. The extracellular domain includes four immunoglobulin-like domains.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:18 (LIR-pbm2) has a predicted extracellular region that includes amino acids 1-259 and a signal peptide of amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain that includes amino acids 260-280; and a cytoplasmic domain that includes amino acids 281-448. This LIR family member has cytoplasmic domain which includes an ITIM motif at amino acids 412-415 and 442-445. The extracellular domain includes two immunoglobulin-like domains.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:20 (LIR-pbm17) has a predicted extracellular domain of amino acids 1-443 that includes a signal peptide of amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain which includes amino acids 444-464; and a cytoplasmic domain of amino acids 465-631. The extracellular domain has four immunoglobulin-like domains. SEQ ID NO:20 has two pairs of ITIM YxxL/V motifs in the cytoplasmic domain. A first pair is at amino acids 514-517 and 543-546, and a second pair is at amino acids 595-598 and 625-628.
The amino acid sequence presented in SEQ ID NO:22 (LIR-pbmnew) has a predicted extracellular domain of amino acids 1-456 including a signal peptide of amino acids 1-16; a transmembrane domain which includes amino acids 457-579; and a cytoplasmic domain of amino acids 580-590. The extracellular includes four immunoglobulin-like domains. SEQ ID NO:22 has an 1ITIM motif at amino acid 554-557 and 584-587.
The sequences presented in SEQ ID NO:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 reveal that the LIR family includes three groups of polypeptides. One group includes the polypeptides of SEQ ID NO:12, 14 and 16 which are distinguishable by a charged arginine residue in their transmembrane regions and their short cytoplasmic regions. A second group includes SEQ ID NO:2, 4, 10, 18, 20 and 22 which are distinguishable by the hydrophobic cytoplasmic domains and the presence of the ITIM motif in their cytoplasmic regions. The third group includes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:8 which is expressed as a soluble polypeptide and has no transmembrane region. This soluble polypeptide may function to block the interactions of cell surface family members with their receptors. Alternatively, this soluble polypeptide may act as an activatory signal when it binds to its receptor. The LIR polypeptides are characterized generally by the ability of their encoding DNA to hybridize to DNA encoding the P3G2 extracellular region.
The extracellular regions of the LIR family members presented in SEQ ID NO:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 have a high degree of homology which varies from 59%-84%. The extracellular regions of SEQ ID NO:12 and SEQ ID NO:14 share sequence homology which is close to 100% since these polypeptides are from the same gene. Similarly, SEQ ID NO:2 and SEQ ID NO:4 share sequence homology that is in excess of 95% and it is thought that these may be alleles of the same gene. While sharing some structural similarities with other members of the immunoglobulin superfamily, the LIR family members have limited homology to these members of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Molecules having the closest structural similarity are the human KIRs and mouse gp49. However, LIR extracellular regions share only a 38-42% identity with the extracellular regions of NKAT3 and p58 Cl-39, respectively. The extracellular regions of the LIR family members are only 35-47% homologous with that of mouse gp49. In contrast, KIRs in general are known to share at least a 80% amino acid identity, with NKAT3 and p58 CL-39 being 81% homologous. Additionally, none of the known KIR molecules has four extracellular immunoglobulin domains which is characteristic of all but two of the known LIR family members. In view of the high sequence homology among the LIR related polypeptides disclosed herein and their relatively low homology with KIRs, the LIR polypeptides are members of a new family of immunoregulators.
An analysis of the amino acid sequences of the LIR polypeptides reveals that specific stretches of amino acids of the LIR polypeptides are highly conserved. One conserved region is the sequence of amino acids 5-50. A data base search determined that the LIR family members differ substantially from the most structurally similar prior art polypeptides in this LIR conserved region. The data base search and structural analysis was performed using BLAST NB1, a local alignment search tool for searching data bases and aligning amino acid sequences to determine identities and variations in a given sequence. The BLAST NB1 software is accessible on the internet at www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/blast. The BLAST NB1 search for sequences having homology to the sequence of amino acids 5 to 50 of SEQ ID NO:2 found that the most structurally similar proteins are Fcxcex3IIR, gp49B form 2, and gp49B form 1 having identities with amino acids 5 to 50 of SEQ ID NO:2 of 63%, 67%, and 67% respectively. This contrasts with an LIR family identity with amino acids 5 to 50 of SEQ ID NO:2 which ranges from 77% to 100%. Specifically, LIR family members of the present invention have the following identities with amino acids 5-50 of SEQ ID NO:2: SEQ ID NO:8 has a 96%; SEQ ID NO:10 has a 90% identity; SEQ ID NO:12 has a 96% identity; SEQ ID NO:14 has a 91% identity; SEQ ID NO:16 has a 97% identity; SEQ ID NO:18 has a 77% identity; SEQ ID NO:20 has an 80% identity; and, SEQ ID NO:22 has an 80% identity.
Sequence identity as used herein is the number of aligned amino acids which are identical, divided by the total number of amino acids in the shorter of the two sequences being compared. A number of computer programs are available commercially for aligning sequences and determining sequence identities and variations. These programs provide identity information based upon the above stated definition of identity. One suitable computer program is the GAP program, version 6.0, described by Devereux et al. (Nuci. Acids Res. 12:387, 1984) and available from the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group (UWGCG). The GAP program utilizes the alignment method of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol. Biol. 48:443, 1970), as revised by Smith and Waterman (Adv. Appl. Math 2:482, 1981). The preferred default parameters for the GAP program include: (1) a unary comparison matrix (containing a value of 1 for identities and 0 for non-identities) for nucleotides, and the weighted comparison matrix of Gribskov and Burgess, Nucl. Acids Res. 14:6745, 1986, as described by Schwartz and Dayhoff, eds., Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure, National Biomedical Research Foundation, pp. 353-358, 1979; (2) a penalty of 3.0 for each gap and an additional 0.10 penalty for each symbol in each gap; and (3) no penalty for end gaps. Another similar program, also available from the University of Wisconsin as part of the GCG computer package for sequence manipulation is the BESTFIT program.
In another aspect, the polypeptides of the present invention have conserved regions which are uniquely characterized as having the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:28):
Leu Xaaa Leu Ser Xaab Xaac , Pro Arg Thr Xaad Xaae Gln Xaaf Gly Xaag Xaah Pro Xaai Pro Thr Leu Trp Ala Glu Pro Xaaj Ser Phe lie Xaaj Xaa70 Ser Asp Pro Lys Leu Xaak Leu Val Xaam Thr Gly
where Xaaa is Gly or Arg; Xaab is Leu or Val; Xaac is Gly or Asp; Xaad is His Arg or Cys; Xaac is Val or Met; Xaaf is Ala or Thr; Xaag is His Pro or Thr; Xaah Leu Ile or Phe; Xaai is Gly Asp or Ala; Xaaj is Thr Ile Ser or Ala; Xaak is Gly or Val; Xaam is Met or Ala; and Xaa,70 is a sequence of 70 amino acids.
As mentioned above, certain LIR family have ITIM motifs (YxxL/V,25-26YxxL/V) in their cytoplasmic domains. It is known that many immune regulating receptors such as KIRs, CD22, Fcxcex3RIIb1 also have ITIMs in their cytoplasmic domain and function to send inhibitory signals which down regulate or inhibit cell function. It has been shown that these receptors associate with SHP-1 phosphatase via binding to the ITIM motifs. Recruitment of the SHP-1 phosphatase by the receptor appears to be required for intracellular signaling pathways that regulate the inhibitory function of the receptors. The experiment described in Example 11 demonstrates that LIR-P3G2 associates with SHP-1 phosphatase. It is known that many immune regulating receptors such as KIRs, CD22, Fcxcex3Rllb1 have ITIMs in their cytoplasmic domain and function to send inhibitory signals which down regulate or inhibit cell function. Thus, by analogy with KIRs, CD22 and Fcxcex3RIIb1, LIR family members presented in SEQ ID NO:2, 4, 10, 18, 20, and 22 that have ITIM motifs, deliver an inhibitory signal via the interaction of its ITIM with SHP-1 tyrosine phosphatase, or other tyrosine phosphatases, when the LIR is coligated with an appropriate receptor. Also by analogy with immunoregulatory receptors possessing ERMs, LIR family members have a regulatory influence on humoral, inflammatory and allergic responses.
The LIR family members presented in SEQ ID NO:12, 14, and 16 have relatively short cytoplasmic domains, have transmembrane regions possessing at least one charged residue, and do not possess the ITIM motif. By analogy with membrane proteins that lack UTlM motifs and have charged transmembrane regions, these family members mediate stimulatory or activatory signals to cells. For example, membrane bound proteins containing a charged residue in the transmembrane regions are known to associate with other membrane-bound proteins that possess cytoplasmic tails having motifs known as immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAM). Upon association, the ITAMs become phosphorylated and propagate an activation signal.
The LIR polypeptide designated LIR-P3G2 is expressed on the surface of transfected or normal cells. This is evidenced by the results of the experiments described in Example 3 and Example 5 in which flow cytometry and precipitation techniques demonstrate that LIR-P3G2 is found on monocytes, a subpopulation of NK cells, and B cells. P3G2 was not detected on T cells. P3G2 is expressed as a 110-120 kDa glycoprotein. Since P3G2 has four potential glycosylation sites, the molecular size will vary with the degree of its glycosylation. Glycosylation sites occur at the amino acid triplet Asn-X-Y, where X is any amino acid except Pro and Y is Ser or Thr. Potential glycosylation sites on P3G2 occur at amino acids 139-141; 280-282; 302-304; and 340-342.
P3G2-LIR isolated as described in Example 3 was tested for its ability to bind to cell surface ligands distinct from UL18. As demonstrated by the experimental results detailed in Example 7, P3G2 binds HLA-B 44 and HLA-A2, class I MHC antigens. Since Class I MHC molecules play a central role in immune surveillance, self/non-self discrimination, the immune response to infection etc., the LIR-P3G2 polypeptide has a role in regulation of immune responses. It is known that NK cytolytic activity for killing tumor cells and cells infected with a virus is regulated by a delicate modulation of activatory and inhibitory signals. It has been shown that receptors specific for the same HLA class I molecules to which P3G2 binds may be activatory or inhibitory in their triggering mechanism. By analogy, P3G2 which binds MHC class I molecules, plays a role in balancing immune system cell activity and is useful in treating disease states in which the immune system balance is disrupted.
Within the scope of the present invention are polypeptides which include amino acid sequences encoded by DNA that hybridizes to LIR-P3G2 extracellular DNA probes under moderate to highly stringent conditions as taught herein. Probes which hybridize to DNA that encode polypeptides of the present invention include probes which encompass nucleotides 310-1684 of SEQ ID NO:1 or fragments thereof. Fragments of SEQ ID NO:1 utilized as hybridization probes are preferably greater than 17 nucleotides in length and may include nucleotides 358-1684; nucleotides 322-459 (encoding LIR conserved sequence); or DNA or RNA sequences complementary to SEQ ID NO:5, 6, 23, 24, 27 and 1 or fragments thereof. Fragments of SEQ ID NO:5, 6, 23, 24 and 27 include these sequences without the restrictions sites. Conditions for hybridization may be moderately stringent conditions described in, for example, Sambrook et al, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp 1.101-104, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989. Conditions of moderate stringency, as defined by Sambrook et al., include use of a prewashing solution of 5xc3x97SSC, 0.5% SDS, 1.0 mM EDTA (pH 8.0) and hybridization conditions of about 55xc2x0 C., 5xc3x97SSC, overnight. Highly stringent conditions include higher temperatures of hybridization and washing. The skilled artisan will recognize that the temperature and wash solution salt concentration may be adjusted as necessary according to factors such as the length of the probe. Preferred embodiments include amino acid sequences encoded by DNA that hybridizes to probes of the extracellular region of LIR-P3G2 having at least 17 nucleotides. Preferred hybridizing conditions include a temperature of 63xc2x0 C. for 16 hours in a hybridizing solution of Denhart""s Solution, 0.05 M TRIS at pH 7.5, 0.9 M NaCl, 0.1% sodium pyrophosphate, 1% SDS and 200 xcexcg/mL salmon sperm DNA, followed by washing with 2xc3x97SSC at 63xc2x0 C. for one hour and then a wash with 1xc3x97SSC at 63xc2x0 C. for one hour.
The present invention includes polypeptides having amino acid sequences that differ from, but are highly homologous to, those presented in SEQ ID NO:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. Examples include, but are not limited to, homologs derived from other mammalian species, variants (both naturally occurring variants and those generated by recombinant DNA technology), and LIR P3G2 and LIR family member fragments that retain a desired biological activity. Preferably, such polypeptides exhibit a biological activity associated with the LIR polypeptides described in SEQ ID Nos:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 20 and 22 and comprise an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% identical to any of the amino acid sequences of the signal peptide and extracellular domains of the polypeptides presented in SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. Preferably such polypeptides are at least 90% identical to any of the amino acid sequences of the signal peptide and extracellular domains of the polypeptides presented in SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. Determining the degree of identity between polypeptides can be achieved using any algorithms or computer programs designed for analyzing protein sequences. The commercially available GAP program described below is one such program. Other programs include the BESTFIT and GCG programs which are also commercially available.
Within the scope of the present invention are LIR polypeptide fragments that retain a desired biological property of an LIR polypeptide family member such as binding to MHC class I or other ligand. In one such embodiment, LIR polypeptide fragments are soluble LIR polypeptides comprising all or part of the extracellular domain, but lacking the transmembrane region that would cause retention of the polypeptide on a cell membrane. Soluble LIR polypeptides are capable of being secreted from the cells in which they are expressed. Advantageously, a heterologous signal peptide is fused to the N-terminus such that the soluble LIR is secreted upon expression. Soluble LIR polypeptides include extracellular domains incorporating the signal peptide and those in which the signal peptide is cleaved signal peptide.
The use of soluble forms of a LIR family member is advantageous for certain applications. One such advantage is the ease of purifying soluble forms from recombinant host cells. Since the soluble proteins are secreted from the cells, the protein need not be extracted from cells during the recovery process. Additionally, soluble proteins are generally more suitable for intravenous administration and can be used to block the interaction of cell surface LIR family members with their ligands in order to mediate a desirable immune function.
Soluble LIR polypeptides include the entire extracellular domain or any desirable fragment thereof, including extracellular domains that exclude signal peptides. Thus, for example, soluble LIR polypeptides include amino acids x1-458 of SEQ ID NO:2, where x1 is amino acids 1 or 17; amino acids x2-459 of SEQ ID NO:4, where x2 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x3-439 of SEQ ID NO:8, where x3 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x4-458 of SEQ ID NO:10, where x4 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x5-241 of SEQ ID NO:12, where amino acid x5 is amino acid 1 or 17, amino acids x6-461 of SEQ ID NO:14, where x6 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x7-449 of SEQ ID NO:16, where x7 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x8-259 of SEQ ID NO:18, where x8 is amino acid 1 or 17; amino acids x9-443 of SEQ ID NO:20, where X9 is amino acid 1 or 17; and amino acids x10-456 of SEQ ID NO:22, where x10 is amino acid 1 or 17. The above identified soluble LIR polypeptides include LIR extracellular regions that include and exclude signal peptides. Additional soluble LIR polypeptides include fragments of the extracellular domains of family members that retain a desired biological activity, such as binding to ligands that include MHC class I molecules.
LIR family member fragments, including soluble polypeptides, may be prepared by any of a number of conventional techniques. A DNA sequence encoding a desired LIR polypeptide encoding fragment may be subcloned into an expression vector for production of the LIR polypeptide fragment. The selected encoding DNA sequence advantageously is fused to a sequence encoding a suitable leader or signal peptide. The desired LIR member encoding DNA fragment may be chemically synthesized using known DNA synthesis techniques. DNA fragments also may be produced by restriction endonuclease digestion of a full length cloned DNA sequence, and isolated by electrophoresis on an appropriate gel. If necessary, oligonucleotides that reconstruct the 5xe2x80x2 or 3xe2x80x2 terminus to a desired point may be ligated to a DNA fragment generated by restriction enzyme digestion. Such oligonucleotides may additionally contain a restriction endonuclease cleavage site upstream of the desired coding sequence, and position an initiation codon (ATG) at the N-terminus of the coding sequence.
Another technique useful for obtaining a DNA sequence encoding a desired protein fragment is the well known polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure. Oligonucleotides which define the termini of the desired DNA are used as probes to synthesize additional DNA from a desired DNA template. The oligonucleotides may also contain recognition sites for restriction endonucleases, to facilitate inserting the amplified DNA fragment into an expression vector. PCR techniques are described in Saiki et al., Science 239:487(1988): Recombinant DNA Methodology, Wu et al.,.eds., Academic Press, Inc., San Diego (1989), pp. 189-196; and PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Innis et al., eds., Academic Press, Inc. (1990).
DNA of LIR family members of the present invention include cDNA, chemically synthesized DNA, DNA isolated by PCR, genomic DNA, and combinations thereof. Genomic LIR family DNA may be isolated by hybridization to the LIR family cDNA disclosed herein using standard techniques. RNA transcribed from LIR family DNA is also encompassed by the present invention.
Within the scope of the present invention are DNA fragments such as LIR polypeptide coding regions and DNA fragments that encode soluble polypeptides. Examples of DNA fragments that encode soluble polypeptides include DNA that encodes entire extracellular regions of LIR family members and DNA that encodes extracellular region fragments such as regions lacking the signal peptide. More specifically, the present invention includes nucleotides 310-2262 of SEQ ID NO:1 (P3G2 coding region); nucleotides x1-1683 of SEQ ID NO:1, where x1 is 310 or 358 (encoding the P3G2 extracellular domain); nucleotides 168-2126 of SEQ ID NO:3 (the 18A3 coding region) and nucleotides x2-1544 of SEQ ID NO:3, where x2 is 168 or 216 (the 18A3 extracellular domain coding region); nucleotides x3-1412 of SEQ ID NO:7, where x3 is 93 or 141 (the pbm25 coding region and extracellular region); nucleotides 184 -1980 of SEQ ID NO:9, (the pbm8 coding region) and nucleotides x4-1557 of SEQ ID NO:9, where X3 is 184 or 232 (the pmb8 extracellular domain coding region); nucleotides 171-1040 of SEQ ID NO:11 (pbm36-2 coding region) and nucleotides x5-878 of SEQ ID NO:11, where x5 is 171 or 219 (encoding the pbm36-2 extracellular domain); nucleotides 183-1652 of SEQ ID NO:13 (coding region for pbm36-4) and nucleotides x6-1565 of SEQ ID NO:13, where x6 is 183 or 231 (encoding the pbm36-4 extracellular domain); nucleotides 40-1491 of SEQ ID NO:15 (the pbmhh coding region) and nucleotides x7-1386 of SEQ ID NO:15, where x7 is 40 or 88 (encoding the pbmhh extracellular domain); nucleotides 30-1376 of SEQ ID NO:17 (the pbm2 coding region) and nucleotides x8-806 of SEQ ID NO:17, where x8 is 30 or 78 (encoding the pbm2 extracellular region); nucleotides 66-1961 of SEQ ID NO:19 (the pbm17 coding region) and nucleotides x9-1394 of SEQ ID NO:19, where x9 is 66 or 114 (encoding the pbm17 extracellular domain); and nucleotides 67-1839 of SEQ ID NO:21 (the pbmnew coding region) and nucleotides x10-1434 of SEQ ID NO:21, where x10 is 67 or 115 (encoding the pbmnew extracellular domain).
Included in the present invention are DNAs encoding biologically active fragments of the LIR family members presented in SEQ ID NOS:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22.
The present invention encompasses nucleotide sequences which, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, encode polypeptides substantially identical or substantially similar to polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acid sequences described above, and sequences complementary to them. Accordingly, within the present invention are DNA encoding biologically active LIR family members which include the coding region of a native human LIR family member cDNA, or fragments thereof, and DNA which is degenerate as a result of the genetic code to the native LIR polypeptide DNA sequence or the DNA of native LIR family members described herein.
In another aspect, the present invention includes LIR variants and derivatives as well as variants and derivatives of LIR family polypeptides, both recombinant and non-recombinant, that retain a desired biological activity. An LIR variant, as referred to herein, is a polypeptide substantially homologous to a native LIR polypeptide, as described herein, except the variant amino acid sequence differs from that of the native polypeptide because of one or more deletions, insertions or substitutions.
LIR family variants may be obtained from mutations of native LIR nucleotide sequences. Within the present invention are such DNA mutations or variants which include nucleotide sequences having one or more nucleotide additions, nucleotide deletions, or nucleotide substitutions compared to native DNA of LIR family members and which encode variant LIR polypeptides or variant LIR family members having a desired biological activity. Preferably the biological activity is substantially the same as that of the native LIR polypeptide.
Variant amino acid sequences and variant nucleotide sequences of the present invention preferably are at least 80% identical to that of a native LIR family member sequence. One method for determining the degree of homology or identity between a native amino acid or nucleotide sequence and a variant amino acid or nucleotide sequence is to compare the sequences using computer programs available for such purposes. One suitable computer program is the GAP program, version 6.0, described by Devereux et al. (Nucl. Acids Res. 12:387, 1984) and available from the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group (UWGCG). The GAP program utilizes the alignment method of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol. Biol. 48:443, 1970), as revised by Smith and Waterman (Adv. Appl. Math 2:482, 1981). Briefly, the GAP program defines identity as the number of aligned symbols (i.e., nucleotides or amino acids) which are identical, divided by the total number of symbols in the shorter of the two sequences being compared. The preferred default parameters for the GAP program include: (1) a unary comparison matrix (containing a value of 1 for identities and 0 for non-identities) for nucleotides, and the weighted comparison matrix of Gribskov and Burgess, Nucl. Acids Res. 14:6745, 1986, as described by Schwartz and Dayhoff, eds., Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure, National Biomedical Research Foundation, pp. 353-358, 1979; (2) a penalty of 3.0 for each gap and an additional 0.10 penalty for each symbol in each gap; and (3) no penalty for end gaps.
Alterations of native LIR amino acid sequences may be provided by using any of a number of known techniques. As described above, mutations can be introduced at selected sequence sites by synthesizing oligonucleotides containing a mutant coding sequence, flanked by restriction sites enabling its ligation to fragments of the native sequence. After ligating the synthesized oligonucleotides to the native sequence fragments, the resulting reconstructed nucleotide sequence will encode an analog or variant polypeptide having the desired amino acid insertion, substitution, or deletion. Another procedure suitable for preparing variant polypeptides is oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis procedures which provide genes having specific codons altered in accordance with the desired substitution, deletion, or insertion. Techniques for making such alterations include those disclosed in the following references: Walder et al. Gene, 42:133, 1986; Bauer et al.,Gene 37:73, 1985; Craik, BioTechniques, 12-19 January, 1985; Smith et al. Genetic Engineering: Principles and Methods, Plenum Press, 1981; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,518,584 and 4,737,462, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Variant polypeptides of the present invention may have amino acid sequences which are conservatively substituted, meaning that one or more amino acid residues of a native LIR polypeptide family member is replaced by different residues, such that the variant polypeptide retains a desired biological activity that is essentially equivalent to that of a native LIR family member. In general, a number of approaches to conservative substitutions are well known in the art and can be applied in preparing variant of the present invention. For example, amino acids of the native polypeptide sequence may be substituted for amino acids which do not alter the secondary and/or tertiary structure of the LIR polypeptide. Other suitable substitutions include those which involve amino acids outside of the ligand-binding domain of interest. One approach to conservative amino acid substitutions involves replacing one or amino acids with those having similar physiochemical characteristics, e.g. substituting one aliphatic residue for another such as Ile, Val, Leu, or Ala for one another); substituting one polar residue for another (such as between Lys and Arg; Glu and Asp; or Gln and Asn); or substituting entire regions having similar hydrophobicity or hydrophilic characteristics.
LIR polypeptide variants can be tested for binding to cells as described in Examples 5 and 6 and for phosphatase binding activity as described in Example 11 to confirm biological activity. Other LIR variants within the present invention include polypeptides which are altered by changing the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide so that selected polypeptide Cys residues are deleted or replaced with one or more alternative amino acids. These LIR variants will not form intramolecular disulfide bridges upon renaturation. Naturally occurring LIR polypeptides selected for alteration by deleting to altering Cys residues preferably do not have biological activities which depend upon disulfide bridges formed by the Cys residue. Other possible variants are prepared by techniques which cause the modification of adjacent dibasic amino acid residues to enhance expression in yeast systems in which KEx2 protease activity is present. EP 212,914 discloses site-specific mutagenesis techniques for inactivating KEx2 protease processing sites in a protein. KEx2 protease processing sites are inactivated by deleting, adding or substituting residues to alter Arg-Arg, Arg-Lys, and Lys-Arg pairs to eliminate the occurrence of these adjacent basic residues. Lys-Lys and pairings are considerably less susceptible to KEx2 cleavage, and conversion of Arg-Lys or Lys-Arg to Lys-Lys represents a conservative and preferred approach to inactivating KEx2 sites.
Naturally occurring LIR variants are also encompassed by the present invention. Examples of such variants are proteins that result from alternative mRNA splicing events or from proteolytic cleavage of an LIR polypeptide. Alternative splicing of mRNA may yield a truncated but biologically active LIR polypeptide such as a naturally occurring soluble form of the protein. Variations attributable to proteolysis include difference in the N- or C-termini upon expression in different types of host cells, due to proteolytic removal of one or more terminal amino acids from the LIR polypeptide. In addition, proteolytic cleavage may release a soluble form of LIR from a membrane-bound form of the polypeptide. Other naturally occurring LIR variations are those in which differences from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID Nos:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 are attributable to genetic polymorphism, the allelic variation among individuals.
Within the scope of the present invention are derivative LIR family polypeptides which include native or variant LIR polypeptides modified to form conjugates with selected chemical moieties. The conjugates can be formed by covalently linking another moiety to a native or variant LIR or by non-covalen dy linking another moiety to a native or variant LIR. Suitable chemical moieties include but are not limited to glycosyl groups, lipids, phosphates, acetyl groups, and other proteins or fragments thereof. Techniques for covalently linking chemical moieties to proteins are well known in the art and are generally suitable for preparing derivative LIR polypeptides. For example, active or activated functional groups on amino acid side chains can be used as reaction sites for covalently linking a chemical moiety to a LIR polypeptide. Similarly, the N-terminus or C-terminus can provide a reaction site for a chemical moiety. LIR polypeptides or fragments conjugated with other proteins or protein fragments can be prepared in recombinant culture as N-terminal or C-terminal fusion products. For example, the conjugate or fusion portions may include a signal or leader sequence attached to an LIR molecule at its N-terminus. The signal or leader peptide co-translationally or post-translationally directs transfer of the conjugate from its site of synthesis to a site inside or outside of the cell membrane.
One useful LIR polypeptide conjugate is one incorporating a poly-His or the antigenic identification peptides described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,912 and in Hopp et al., Bio/Technology 6;1124,41988. For example, the FLAG.(copyright) peptide, Asp-Tyr-Lys-Asp-Asp-Asp-Asp-Lys (SEQ ID NO:29) is highly antigenic and provides an epitope reversibly bound by a specific monoclonal antibody, thus enabling rapid assay and facile purification of expressed recombinant protein. This sequence is specifically cleaved by bovine mucosal enterokinase at the residue immediately following the Asp-Lys pairing. Fusion proteins capped with this peptide may be resistant to intracellular degradation in E. coli. Murine hybridoma,designated 4E11 produced a monoclonal antibody that binds the peptide of SEQ ID NO; 29 in the presence of certain divalent metal cations, and has been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection under accession no HB 9259. Expression systems useful for producing recombinant proteins fused to the FLAG(copyright) peptide, and monoclonal antibodies that bind the peptide and are useful in purifying the recombinant proteins, are available from Eastman Kodak Company, Scientific Imaging Systems, New Haven, Connecticut.
Particularly suitable LIR fusion proteins are those in which an LIR polypeptide is in the form of an oligomer. Oligomers may be formed by disulfide bonds between cysteine residues on more than one LIR polypeptide, or by noncovalent interactions between LIR polypeptide chains. In another approach, LIR oligomers can be formed by joining LIR polypeptides or fragment thereof via covalent or noncovalent interactions between peptide moieties fused to the LIR polypeptide. Suitable peptide moieties include peptide linkers or spacers, or peptides that have the property of promoting oligomerization. Leucine zippers and certain polypeptides derived from antibodies are among the peptides that can promote oligomerization of LIR polypeptides attached thereto.
Other LrR fusion proteins which promote oligomer formation are fusion proteins having heterologous polypeptides fused to various portions of antibody-derived polypeptides (including the Fc domain). Procedures for preparing such fusion proteins are described in Ashkenazi et al. PNAS USA 88:10535, 1991; Byrne et al. Nature 344:667, 1990, and Hollenbaugh and Aruffo Current Protocols in Immunology, Supplement 4, pages 10.19.1-10.19.11, 1992; all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Example 1 and Example 5 below describe methods for preparing UL18:Fc and P3G2:Fc fusion proteins, respectively, by fusing P3G2 and UL 18 to an Fc region polypeptide derived from an antibody. This is accomplished by inserting into an expression vector a gene fusion encoding the P3G2:Fc fusion protein and expressing the P3G2:Fc fusion protein. The fusion proteins are allowed to assemble much like antibody molecules, whereupon interchain disulfide bonds form between the Fc polypeptides, yielding divalent P3G2 polypeptide. In a similar approach, P3G2 or any LIR polypeptide may be substituted for the variable portion of an antibody heavy or light chain. If fusion proteins are made with heavy and light chains of an antibody, it is possible to form a LIR oligomer with as many as four LIR regions.
As used herein, a Fc polypeptide includes native and mutein forms, as well as truncated Fc polypeptides containing the hinge region that promotes dimerization. One suitable Fc polypeptide is the native Fc region polypeptide derived from a human IgG 1, which is described in PCT application WO 93/10151, hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another useful Fc polypeptide is the Fc mutein described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,035. The amino acid sequence of the mutein is identical to that of the native Fc sequence presented in WO 93/10151, except that amino acid 19 has been changed from Leu to Ala, amino acid 20 has been changed from Leu to Glu, and amino acid 22 has been changed from Gly to Ala. This mutein Fc exhibits reduced affinity for immunoglobulin receptors.
Alternatively, oligomeric LIR polypeptide variants may include two or more LIR peptides joined through peptide linkers. Examples include those peptide linkers described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,627, incorporated herein by reference. Fusion proteins which include multiple LIR polypeptides separated by peptide linkers may be produced conventional recombinant DNA technology.
Another method for preparing oligomeric LIR polypeptide variants involves use of a leucine zipper. Leucine zipper domains are peptides that promote oligomerization of the proteins in which they are found. Leucine zippers were first identified in several DNA-binding proteins (Landschulz et al. Science 240:1759, 1988). Among the known leucine zippers are naturally occurring peptides and peptide derivatives that dimerize or trimerize. Examples of leucine zipper domains suitable for producing soluble oligomeric LIR polypeptides or oligomeric polypeptides of the LIR family are those described in PCT application WO 94/10308, incorporated herein by reference. Recombinant fusion proteins having a soluble LIR polypeptide fused to a peptide that dimerizes or trimerizes in solution may be expressed in suitable host cells, and the resulting soluble oligomeric LIR polypeptide recovered from the culture supernatant.
Numerous reagents useful for cross-linking one protein molecule to another are known. Heterobifunctional and homobifunctional linkers are available for this purpose from Pierce Chemical Company, Rockford, Ill., for example. Such linkers contain two functional groups (e.g., esters and/or maleimides) that will react with certain functional groups on amino acid side chains, thus linking one polypeptide to another.
One type of peptide linker that may be employed in the present invention separates polypeptide domains by a distance sufficient to ensure that each domain properly folds into the secondary and tertiary structures necessary for the desired biological activity. The linker also should allow the extracellular portion to assume the proper spatial orientation to form the binding sites for ligands.
Suitable peptide linkers are known in the art, and may be employed according to conventional techniques. Among the suitable peptide linkers are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,751,180 and 4,935,233, which are hereby incorporated by reference. A peptide linker may be attached to LIR polypeptides by any of the conventional procedures used to attach one polypeptide to another. The cross-linking reagents available from Pierce Chemical Company as described above are among those that may be employed. Amino acids having side chains reactive with such reagents may be included in the peptide linker, e.g., at the termini thereof. Preferably, a fusion proteins formed via a peptide linker are prepared by recombinant DNA technology.
The fusion proteins of the present invention include constructs in which the C-terminal portion of one protein is fused to the linker which is fused to the N-terminal portion of another protein. Peptides linked in such a manner produce a single protein which retains the desired biological activities. The components of the fusion protein are listed in their order of occurrence (i.e., the N-terminal polypeptide is listed first, followed by the linker and then the C-terminal polypeptide).
A DNA sequence encoding a fusion protein is constructed using recombinant DNA techniques to insert separate DNA fragments encoding the desired proteins into an appropriate expression vector. The 3xe2x80x2 end of a DNA fragment encoding one protein is ligated (via the linker) to the 5xe2x80x2 end of the DNA fragment encoding another protein with the reading frames of the sequences in phase to permit translation of the mRNA into a single biologically active fusion protein. A DNA sequence encoding an N-terminal signal sequence may be retained on the DNA sequence encoding the N-terminal polypeptide, while stop codons, which would prevent read-through to the second (C-terminal) DNA sequence, are eliminated. Conversely, a stop codon required to end translation is retained on the second DNA sequence. DNA encoding a signal sequence is preferably removed from the DNA sequence encoding the C-terminal polypeptide.
A DNA sequence encoding a desired polypeptide linker may be inserted between, and in the same reading frame as, the DNA sequences encoding the two proteins using any suitable conventional technique. For example, a chemically synthesized oligonucleotide encoding the linker and containing appropriate restriction endonuclease cleavage sites may be ligated between the sequences encoding Fc and a P3G2 polypeptide.
Within the scope of the present invention are recombinant expression vectors for expressing polypeptides of the LIR family, and host cells transformed with the expression vectors. Expression vectors of the invention include DNA encoding LIR family members operably linked to suitable transcriptional or translational regulatory nucleotide sequences, such as those derived from a mammalian, microbial, viral, or insect gene. Examples of regulatory sequences include transcriptional promoters, operators, or enhancers, an mRNA ribosomal binding site, and appropriate sequences which control transcription and translation initiation and termination. Nucleotide sequences are operably linked when the regulatory sequence functionally relates to the LIR DNA sequence. Thus, a promoter nucleotide sequence is operably linked to a LIR DNA sequence if the promoter nucleotide sequence controls the transcription of the LIR DNA sequence. An origin of replication that confers the ability to replicate in the desired host cells, and a selection gene by which transformants are identified, are generally incorporated in the expression vector.
In addition, a sequence encoding an appropriate signal peptide can be incorporated into expression vectors. A DNA sequence for a signal peptide (secretory leader) may be fused in frame to the LIR sequence so that the LIR is initially translated as a fusion protein comprising the signal peptide. A signal peptide that is functional in the intended host cells promotes extracellular secretion of the LIR polypeptide. The signal peptide is cleaved from the LIR polypeptide upon secretion of the LIR polypeptide from the cell.
Suitable host cells for expression of LIR polypeptides include prokaryotes, yeast or higher eukaryotic cells. Appropriate cloning and expression vectors for use with bacterial, fungal, yeast, and mammalian cellular hosts are described, for example, in Pouwels et al. Coning Vectors: A Laboratory Manual, Elsevier, New York, (1985). Cell-free translation systems could also be employed to produce P3G2 polypeptides using RNAs derived from DNA constructs disclosed herein.
Prokaryote host cells suitable in the practice of the present invention include gram negative or gram positive organisms, for example, E. coli or Bacilli. Suitable prokaryotic host cells for transformation include, for example, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhimurium, and various other species within the general Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, and Staphylococcus. In a prokaryotic host cell, such as E. coli, a P3G2 polypeptide may include an N-terminal methionine residue to facilitate expression of the recombinanat polypeptide. The N-terminal Met may be cleaved from the expressed recombinant LIR polypeptide.
Expression vectors for use in prokaryotic host cells generally include one or more phenotypic selectable marker genes. A phenotypic selectable marker gene is, for example, a gene encoding a protein that confers antibiotic resistance or that supplies an autotrophic requirement. Examples of useful expression vectors for prokarytoic host cells include those derived from commercially available plasmids such as the cloning vector pBR322 (ATCC 37017). pBR322 contains genes for ampicillin and tetracycline resistance and thus provides simple means for identifying transformed cells. An appropriate promoter and a LIR family DNA may be inserted into the pBR322 vector. Other commercially available vectors include, for example, pKK223-3 (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals, Uppsala, Sweden) and pGEM1 (Promega Biotec, Madison, Wis., USA).
Promoter sequences commonly used for recombinant prokaryotic host cell expression vectors include xcex2-lactamase (penicillinase), lactose promoter system (Chang et al. Nature 75:615, 1978; and Goeddel et al., Nature 281:544, 1979), tryptophan (tfp) promoter system (Goeddel et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 8:4057, 1980); and EP-A-36776) and tac promoter (Maniatis, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, p. 412, 1982). A particularly useful prokaryotic host cell expression system employs a phase xcexPL promoter and a cI857ts thermolabile repressor sequence. Plasmid vectors available from the American Type Culture Collection which incorporate derivatives of the xcexPL promoter include plastid pHUB2 (resident in E. coli strain JMB9, ATCC 37092) and pPLc28 (resident in E. coli RR1, ATCC 53082).
Alternatively, LIR polypeptides may be expressed in yeast host cells, preferably from the Saccharomyces genus (e.g., S. cerevisiae). Other genera of yeast, such as Pichia or Kluyveromyces may also be employed. Yeast vectors will often contain an origin of replication sequence from a 2xcexc yeast plasmid, an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS), a promoter region, sequences for polyadenylation, sequences for transcription termination, and a selectable marker gene. Suitable promoter sequences for yeast vectors include, among others, promoters for metallothionein, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (Hitzeman et al., J. Biol. Chem 255:2073, 1980) or other glycolytic enzymes (Hess et al., J. Adv. Enzyme Reg. 7:149, 1968); and Holland et al., Biochem. 17:4900, 1978), such as enolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, phosphofructokinase, glucose-andphosphate isomerase, 3-phosphoglycerate mutase, pyruvate kinase, triosephosphate isomerase, phospho-glucose isomerase, and glucokinase. Other suitable vectors and promoters for use in yeast expression are further described in Hitzeman, EPA-73,675. Another alternative is the glucose-repressible ADH2 promoter described by Russell et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 258:2674, 1982) and Beier et al. (Nature 300:724, 1982). Shuttle vectors replicable in both yeast and E. coli may be constructed by inserting DNA from pBR322 for selection and replication in E. coli (Ampr gene and origin of replication) into the above-described yeast vectors.
The yeast (xcex1-factor leader sequence may be employed to direct secretion of the LIR polypeptide. The xcex1-factor leader sequence is often inserted between the promoter sequence and the structural gene sequence. See, e.g., Kuian et al., Cell 30:933,1982 and Bitter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:5330, 1984. Other leader sequences suitable for facilitating secretion of recombinant polypeptides from yeast hosts are known to those of skill in the art. A leader sequence may be modified near its 3xe2x80x2 end to contain one or more restriction sites. This will facilitate fusion of the leader sequence to the structural gene.
Yeast transformation protocols are known to those of skill in the art. One such protocol is described by Hinnen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75:1929, 1978. The Hinnen et al. protocol selects for Trp+transformants in a selective medium, wherein the selective medium consists of 0.67% yeast nitrogen base, 0.5% casamino acids, 2% glucose, 10 xcexcg/mL adenine and 20 xcexcg/mL uracil.
Yeast host cells transformed by vectors containing an ADH2 promoter sequence may be grown for inducing expression in a xe2x80x9crichxe2x80x9d medium. An example of a rich medium is one having 1% yeast extract, 2% peptone, and 1% glucose supplemented with 80 xcexcg/mL uracil. Derepression of the ADH2 promoter occurs when glucose is exhausted from the medium.
Mammalian or insect host cell culture systems may be used to express recombinant LIR polypeptides. Baculovirus systems for production of heterologous proteins in insect cells are reviewed by Luckow and Summers, BiolTechnology 6:47 (1988). Established cell lines of mammalian origin also may be employed. Examples of suitable mammalian host cell lines include the COS-7 line of monkey kidney cells (ATCC CRL 1651)(Gluzman et al., Cell 23:175, 1981), L cells, C127 cells, 3T3 cells (ATCC CCL 163), Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, HeLa cells, and BHK (ATCC CRL 10) cell lines, and the CVI/EBNA cell cline derived from the African green monkey cell line CVI (ATCC CCL 70) as described by McMahan et al. (EMBO J. 10:2821, 1991). COS-1 (ATCC CRL-1650).
Transcriptional and translational control sequences for mammalian host cell expression vectors may be excised from viral genomes. Commonly used promoter sequences and enhancer sequences are derived from Polyoma virus, Adenovirus 2, Simian Virus 40 (SV40), and human cytomegalovirus. DNA derived from the SV40 viral genome, for example, SV40 origin, early and late promoter, enhancer, splice, and polyadenylation sites may be used to provide other genetic elements for expression of a structural gene sequence in a mammalian host cell. Viral early and late promoters are particularly useful because both are easily obtained from a viral genome as a fragment which may also contain a viral origin of replication (Fiers et al., Nature 273:113, 1978). Smaller or larger SV40 fragments may also be used, provided the approximately 250 bp sequence extending from the HIND III site toward the Bg/I site located in the SV40 viral origin of replication site is included.
Suitable expression vectors for use in mammalian host cells can be constructed as disclosed by Okayama and Berg (Mol. Cell. Biol. 3:280, 1983). One useful system for stable high level expression of mammalian receptor cDNAs in C127 murine mammary epithelial cells can be constructed substantially as described by Cosman et al. (Mol. Immunol. 23:935, 1986). A high expression vector, PMLSV N1/N4, described by Cosman et al., Nature 312:768, 1984 has been deposited as ATCC 39890. Additional mammalian expression vectors are described in EP-A-0367566, and in WO 91/18982. Still additional expression vectors for use in mammalian host cells include pDC201 (Sims et al., Science 241:585, 1988), pDC302 (Mosley et al. Cell 59:335, 1989), and pDC406 (McMahan et al., EMBO J. 10:2821, 1991). Vectors derived from retroviruses also may be employed. One preferred expression system employs pDC409 as discussed in Example 5 below.
For expression of LIR polypeptides the expression vector may comprise DNA encoding a signal or leader peptide. In place of the native signal sequence, a heterologous signal sequence may be added, such as the signal sequence for interleukin-7 (IL-7) described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,195; the signal sequence for interleukin-2 receptor described in Cosman et al., Nature 312:768, 1984); the interleukin-4 signal peptide described in EP 367,566; the type I interleukin-1 receptor signal peptide described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,607; and the type II interleukin-1 receptor signal peptide described in EP 460,846.
Further contemplated within the present invention are purified LIR family polypeptides. The purified polypeptides of the present invention may be purified from recombinant expression systems as described above or purified from naturally occurring cells. The desired degree of purity may depend on the intended use of the protein with a relatively high degree of purity preferred when the protein is intended for in viva use. Preferably, LIR polypeptide purification processes are such that no protein bands corresponding to proteins other than the desired LIR protein are detectable by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that multiple bands corresponding to any LIR polypeptide my be detected by SDS-PAGE, due to differential glycosylation, variations in post-translational processing, and the like, as discussed above. Most preferably, any specific LIR polypeptide is purified to substantial homogeneity, as indicated by a single protein band upon analysis by SDS-PAGE. The protein band may be visualized by silver staining, Coomassie blue staining, or by autoradiography or fluorescence if the protein is appropriately labeled.
One process for providing purified LIR polypeptides includes first culturing a host cell transformed with an expression vector comprising a DNA sequence that encodes the desired polypeptide under conditions that promote expressing the desired LIR polypeptide and then recovering the LIR polypeptide. As the skilled artisan will recognize, procedures for recovering the polypeptide will vary according to such factors as the type of host cells employed and whether the polypeptide is secreted in the culture medium is extracted from cells.
When the expression system secretes the polypeptide into the culture medium, the medium may be first concentrated using a commercially available protein concentration filter, for example, an Amicon or Millipore Pellicon ultrafiltration unit. Following the concentration step, the concentrate can be applied to a suitable purification matrix such as a gel filtration medium. Alternatively, an anion exchange resin can be employed, such as a resin matrix or resin substrate having pendant diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups. The matrices can be acrylamide, agarose, dextran, cellulose or other types commonly employed in protein purification. Similarly, a purification matrix having cation exchange groups such as sulfopropyl or carboxymethyl functionalities on an insoluble matrix can be used. Sulfopropyl groups are preferred. Still other purification matrices and methods suitable for providing purified LIR are high peifonnance liquid chromatography using hydrophobic reversed phase media (RP-HPLC). One skilled in the art will recognized the any or all of the foregoing purification steps, in various combinations, can be employed to provide a purified LIR polypeptide.
Alternatively, LIR polypeptides can be purified by immunoaffinity chromatography. An affinity column containing an antibody that binds a LIR polypeptide may be prepared by conventional procedures and employed in purifying LIR. Example 5 describes a procedures for generating monoclonal antibodies directed against P3G2 which may be utilized in immunoaffinity chromatography.
Recombinant protein produced in bacterial culture may be isolated by first disrupting the host cells by any convenient method, including freeze-thaw cycling, sonication, mechanical disruption, or use of cell lysing agents and then extracting the polypeptide from cell pellets if the polypeptide is insoluble, or from the supernatant fluid if the polypeptide is soluble. After the initial isolation step, the purification process may include one or more concentrating, salting out, ion exchange, affinity, or size exclusion chromatography purification steps. For many application a final RP-HPLC purification step is beneficial.
Additional methods for providing LIR polypeptides and purified LIR polypeptides involves fermenting yeast which express proteins as a secreted protein. Secreted recombinant protein resulting from a large-scale fermentation can be purified by methods analogous to those disclosed by Urdal et al. (J. Chromatog. 296:171, 1984), involving two sequential, reversed-phase RPLC steps for purification of a recombinant protein on a preparative HPLC column.
LIR-P3G2 DNA in pDC406 vector was deposited with the American Type Culture Collection on Apr. 22, 1997 and assigned accession No. 97995. The deposit was made under the terms of the Budapest Treaty.
As described above, LIR-P3G2 is a MHC class I receptor molecule found on the surface of certain monocytes, B cells, and NK cells. Certain LIR family members have the ITIM motif and by analogy with the structure and function of known MHC class I receptor molecules, are inhibitory receptors mediating negative signaling. Other LIR family members lack the TITM motif and by analogy with the structure and function of known MHC class I receptors are activatory receptors. Failure of a receptor that mediates negative signaling could result in autoimmune diseases. Thus, engaging an LIR family member having IMIM motifs with an agonistic antibody or ligand can be used to downregulate a cell function in disease states in which the immune system is overactive and excessive inflammation or immunopathology is present. On the other hand, using an antagonistic antibody specific to the ITIM possessing LIR receptor or a soluble form of the receptor can be used to block the interaction of the cell surface receptor with the receptor""s ligand to activate the specific immune function in disease states associated with suppressed immune function. Since receptors lacking the ITIM motif send activatory signals once engaged as described above, failure of a receptor that mediates an activatory signal could result in suppressed immune function. Engaging the receptor with its agonistic antibody or ligand can be used to treat diseases associated with the suppressed immune function. Using an antagonistic antibody specific to the activatory LIR receptor or a soluble form of the receptor can be used to block the interaction of the activatory receptor with the receptor""s ligand to downregulate the activatory signaling.
Since LIR-P3G2 binds to various cells, LIR-P3G2 may be used to purify or isolate these cells from heterogeneous preparations. Additionally, P3G2 probes can be used to isolate and identify related molecules.
LIR polypeptides of the present invention may be used in developing treatments for any disorder mediated directly or indirectly by defective or insufficient amounts of any of the LIR polypeptides. A therapeutically effective amount of purified LIR protein is administered by a patient afflicted with such a disorder. Alternatively, LIR DNA may be employed in developing a gene therapy approach to treating such disorders. Disclosure herein of native LIR nucleotide sequence permits the detection of defective LIR genes, and the replacement thereof with normal LIR-encoding genes. Defective genes may be detected in vitro diagnostic assays, and by comparison of the native LIR nucleotide sequence disclosed herein with that of an LIR gene derived from a person suspected of harboring a defect in the gene.
The present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions which may include an LIR polypeptide, or fragments or variants thereof with a physiologically acceptable carrier or diluent. Such carriers and diluents will be nontoxic to recipients at the dosages and concentrations employed. Such compositions may further include buffers, antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, low molecular weight (less than about ten residues) polypeptides, proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates including glucose, sucrose or dextrins, chelating agents such as EDTA, glutathione and other stabilizers and excipients commonly used in pharmaceutical compositions. The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may be formulated as a lyophilizate using appropriate excipient solutions as diluents. The pharmaceutical compositions may include an LIR polypeptide in any for described herein, including but not limited to active variants, fragments, and oligomers. LIR polypeptides may be formulated according to known methods that are used to prepare pharmaceutically useful compositions. Components that are commonly employed in pharmaceutical formulations include those described in Remington""s Pharmaceutical Sciences, 16th ed. (Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa, 1980).
The pharmaceutical preparations of the present invention may be administered to a patient, preferably a human, in a manner appropriate to the indication. Thus, for example, the compositions can be administered by intravenous injection, local administration, continuous infusion, sustained release from implants, etc. Appropriate dosages and the frequency of administration will depend on such factors as the nature and severity of the indication being treated, the desired response, the condition of the patient and so forth.
In preferred embodiments an LIR polypeptide used in the pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention is purified such that the LIR polypeptide is substantially free of other proteins of natural or endogenous origin, desirably containing less than about 1% by mass of protein contaminants residual of the production processes. Such compositions, however, can contain other proteins added as stabilizers, carriers, excipients or co-therapeutics.
LIR encoding DNAs and DNA fragments disclosed herein find use in the production of LIR polypeptides, as described above. In one embodiment, such fragments comprise at least about 17 consecutive nucleotides, more preferably at least 30 consecutive nucleotides, of LIR DNA. DNA and RNA complements of the fragments have similar utility. Among the uses of LIR nucleic acid fragments are as probes or primers in polymerase chain reactions. For example, a probe corresponding to a fragment of DNA encoding the extracellular domain of LIR may be employed to detect the presence of LIR nucleic acids in in vitro assays and in other probing assays such as Northern Blot and Southern blot assays. Cell types expressing an LIR polypeptide can be identified using LIR family nucleic acid probes using probing procedures well known in the art. Those skilled in the art have the knowledge to choose a probe of suitable length and apply conventional PCR techniques to isolate and amplify a DNA sequence.
Nucleic acid fragments may also be used as a probe in cross species hybridization rocedures to isolate LIP, DNA from other mammalian species. As one example, a probe orresponding to the extracellular domain of an LIR polypeptide may be employed. The robes may be labeled (e.g., with 32p) by conventional techniques.
Other useful fragments of LIR nucleic acids are antisense or sense oligonucleotides which include a single-stranded nucleic acid sequence (either RNA or DNA) capable of binding to a target LIR mRNA (sense) or P3G2 DNA (antisense) sequences. Such fragments are generally at least about 14 nucleotides, preferably from about 14 to about 30 nucleotides. The ability to create an antisense or a sense oligonucleotide based upon a cDNA sequence for a given protein is described in, for example, Stein and Cohen, Cancer Res. 48:2659, 1988 and van der Krol et al., BioTechniques 6:958, 1988.
Binding antisense or sense oligonucleotides to target nucleic acid sequences results in the formation of duplexes that block translation (RNA) or transcription (DNA) by one of several means, including enhanced degradation of the duplexes, premature termination of transcription or translation, or by other means. The antisense oligonucleotides thus may be used to block LIR expression.
In one embodiment antisense or sense LIR oligonucleotides used in binding procedures may encompass oligonucleotides having modified sugar-phosphodiester backbones (or other sugar linkages, such as those described in WO91/06629) and wherein such sugar linkages are resistant to endogenous nucleases. Oligonucleotides having sugar linkages resistant to endogenous nucleases are stable in vivo (i.e., capable of resisting enzymatic degradation) but retain sequence specificity to be able to bind to target nucleotide sequences. Other examples of sense or antisense oligonucleotides include those oligonucleotides which are covalently linked to organic moieties, such as those described in WO 90/10448, and other moieties that increase affinity of the oligonucleotide for a target nucleic acid sequence, such as poly-(L-lysine). Further still, intercalating agents, such as ellipticine, and alkylating agents or metal complexes may be attached to sense or antisense oligonucleotides to modify binding specificities of the antisense or sense oligonucleotide for the target nucleotide sequence.
Antisense or sense oligonucleotides may be introduced into a cell containing the target nucleic acid sequence by any gene transfer method, including, for example, CaPO4-mediated DNA transfection, electroporation, or by using gene transfer vectors such as Epstein-Barr virus. Antisense or sense oligonucleotides are preferably introduced into a cell containing the target nucleic acid sequence by inserting he antisense or sense oligonucleotide into a suitable retroviral vector, then contacting the cell with the retroviral vector containing the inserted sequence, either in vivo or ex vivo. Suitable retroviral vectors include, but are not limited to, those derived from the murine retrovirus M-MuLV, N2 (a retrovirus derived from M-MuLV), or the double copy vectors designated DCT5A, DCT5B and DCT5C (see PCT Application US 90/02656).
Sense or antisense oligonucleotides also may be introduced into a cell containing the target nucleotide sequence by formation of a conjugate with a ligand binding molecule, as described in WO 91/04753. Suitable ligand binding molecules include, but are not limited to, cell surface receptors, growth factors, other cytokines, or other ligands that bind to cell surface receptors. Preferably, conjugating the ligand binding molecule does not substantially interfere with the ability of the ligand binding molecule to bind its corresponding molecule or receptor, or block entry of the sense of antisense oligonucleotide or its conjugated version into the cell.
Alternatively, a sense or an antisense oligonucleotide may be introduced into a cell containing the target nucleic acid sequence by formation of an oligonucleotide-lipid complex, as described in WO 90/10448. The sense or antisense oligonucleotide-lipid complex is preferably dissociated within the cell by an endogenous lipase.
In still a further aspect, the present invention provides antibodies that specifically bind LIR polypeptides, i.e., antibodies bind to LIR polypeptides via an antigen-binding site of the antibody (as opposed to non-specific binding). Antibodies of the present invention may be generated using LIR polypeptides or immunogenic fragments thereof. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies may be prepared by conventional techniques. See, for example, Monoclonal Antibodies, Hybridomas: A New Dimension in Biological Analyses, Kennet et al. (eds.), Plenum Press, New York 1980; and Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Harlow and Land (eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1988. An exemplary procedure for producing monoclonal antibodies immunoreactive with P3G2-LIR is further illustrated in Example 5 below.
Included within the scope of the present invention are antigen binding fragments of antibodies which specifically bind to an LIR polypeptide. Such fragments include, but are not limited to, Fab, F(abxe2x80x2), and F(abxe2x80x2)2. Antibody variants and derivatives produced by genetic engineering techniques are contemplated as within the presented invention.
The monoclonal antibodies of the present invention include chimeric antibodies, e.g., humanized versions of murine monoclonal antibodies. Such antibodies may be prepared by known techniques and offer the advantage of reduced immunogenicity when the antibodies are administered to humans. In one embodiment a humanized monoclonal antibody comprises the variable region of a murine antibody (or just the antigen binding site thereof) and a constant region derived from a human antibody. Alternatively, a humanized antibody fragment may comprise the antigen binding site of a murine monoclonal antibody and a variable region fragment (lacking the antigen-binding site) derived from a human antibody. Procedures for the production of chimeric and further engineered monoclonal antibodies include those described in Riechmann et al., Nature 332:232, 1988; Lie et al. PNAS 84:3439, 1987; Larrick et al. Bio/Technology 7:934, 1989; and Winter and Harris TIPS 14:139, 1993.
As mentioned above, antibodies of the present invention are useful in in vitro or in vivo assays to detect the presence of LIR polypeptides and in purifying an LIR polypeptide by affinity chromatography.
Additionally, antibodies capable of blocking an LIR from binding to target cells may be used to inhibit a biological activity of an LIR polypeptide. More specifically, therapeutic compositions of an antibody antagonistic to one or more LIR family members having the ITIM motif may be administered to an individual in order to block the interaction of a cell surface LIR with its ligand. The result is an activation of immune function and is particularly beneficial in disease states in which the immune system is hyporesponsive or suppressed. Conversely, therapeutic compositions of an antibody antagonistic to one or more LIR family members lacking the ITIM motif may be used to obtain the opposite effect and be beneficial in disease states in which the immune system is overactive and excessive inflammation or immunopathology is present.
Pharmaceutical compositions which include at least one antibody that is immunoreactive with an LIR polypeptide and a suitable diluent, excipient, or carrier, are considered with the present invention. Suitable diluents, excipients, and carriers are described in the context of pharmaceutical compositions which include polypeptides of the present invention.